Writing, especially storytelling, through writing is at the heart of preserving the values of any culture, teaching, education and transfer of information from one generation to another. As Africans, we must tell the African story to shed light on the African experience through African eyes and hearts. Moofyme.com is thrilled to be part of such an initiative by partnering with young writers who are committed to telling the African story through writing and sharing of stories; both new and old. On the 29th of September 2016, Route Africa was officially launched in at the Federal University of Technology (FUTO) Owerri, Imo State Nigeria.

Route Africa is a newly-formed non-profit organization of writers, majorly comprised of student writers. Currently, the vast majority of the members of Route Africa are students of FUTO. However, Route Africa is keen to spread its tentacles across Nigeria and Africa. The organization is structured in a way that it aims to establish itself as a club in whatever school it is introduced to. Its target membership are emerging African writers and lovers of the literary arts, especially in schools where these literary-minded students have a high chance of feeling like misfits.

Route Africa was founded by Ndukwe-Nwoke Chiziterem (a final year Petroleum Engineering Student of FUTO), on May 16, 2016, in a strategic meeting with 24 other like-minded students from his school and beyond. The organization has, since inception, partnered with literary-minded individuals and organizations including Irenosen Okojie (author of Butterfly Fish), Festus Azarah (proprietor of the Reading Revolutions in Africa Project), and moofyme.com.

Rundown of Events at the Inauguration:
The inauguration ceremony was truly a literary galore including;
Viewing of Masi Mbewe’s very moving Ted Talk on “Afrofuturism: Rewriting the African Narrative” at the Tedx University of Namibia. Click here to view.

A speech by the chairman of the event, Dr. Uche Uwakwe, a senior lecturer at the Directorate of General Studies, FUTO. His speech focused on 1870s Nigeria and slave trade, colonialism, the future of Africa, arts in Africa, the concept of ‘Africanness’, and the need for African to embrace and champion African literature.

Book reading: A book reading and discussion moderated by the Route Africa president Chiziterem Ndukwe-Nwoke and Ikenaode Arekpitan Queen featured;
(A) An excerpt from Irenosen Okojie’s Butterfly Fish titled “Discombobulated Herd” (this excerpt was a special gift to the occasion from Irenosen Okojie).

(B) An article (selected from various entries by Route Africa) and put together by Ohakpougwu Chinwendu (a Route Africa member and final year student of Computer Science at Madonna University, Elele, Port Harcourt, Nigeria) titled, “Pageants Hurt All Women – Including Myself”. This article emphasized enjoined ladies to seek naturalness in the quest for beauty.

Poetry: A poetic rendition titled “Breaking Barriers: Creative Africans Pushing For What They Love Doing, Despite Hindrances” – a joint spoken word performance by two Engineering students of FUTO. Click here to view.

Viewing of a documentary titled, "The Bridge the Horses of Our Languages Gallop Through: The Story of Route Africa.” Click here to view.

Live poetry and short story contest: Contest judges were carefully selected among the considerably more-experienced members of Route Africa, comprising Uwakwe Martins Mundus, Ogbuchi Nigel, and Okorafor Joseph for the short story contest, and Okwuosa Chidike, and Ndukwe-Nwoke Chiziterem (who stood in for Mbakpuo Stanley who was unavoidably not in attendance). The short story winner received a copy of Mariama Ba’s ‘So Long a Letter’, while the poetry winner received a copy of ‘Moonsongs’ by Niyi Osundare. The winning entries were: “Can a Hungry Girl Think about Reputation?” by Ikenaode Arekpitan Queen (Short Story), and “Rubrics of My Enchantment” by Uzor Michael (Poetry). Both works will be published on www.moofyme.com in the coming days.

www.moofyme.com: for breathtaking stories and exciting articles, every day!!!

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Poster Sources: Route Africa

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